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DIE EKSEMPlAAR MAG ONDER University Free StateTHE COURT FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES: PERCEPTIONS
OF THE PARTIES INVOLVED.
STEPHEN PETER WALKER
Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of
P~OSOPHIAE
DOCTOR
in the Faculty of Humanities,
Department of Psychology
UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE
Bloemfontein
November 2002
Uni er
1eit van
diefgnJe-Vrystoot
t: ~ TEUt
I declare that the thesis hereby submitted by me for the Philosophiae Doctor
degree at the University of the Free State, is my own independent work and
has not previously been submitted by me at another university/faculty.
I
furthermore cede copyright of the thesis in favour of the University of the
Free State.
SPWALKER
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Prof. Dap Louw, my promoter, for his encouragement, patience
and mentorship
•
Prof. John Petrila, form the Department of Mental Health Law
& Policy at the University of South Florida, for his advice and
constructive criticism of the questionnaire
•
Dr. Karel Esterhuyse for performing the data analysis to his
usual impeccable standard
•
Adv. Lani Opperman and the staff of the Sexual Offences Court
in Bloemfontein, for whom nothing was too much trouble
•
Captain Cilliers, Superintendent Kruger and the rest of the staff
of the Child Protection and Sex Crimes Unit in Bloemfontein,
for their kind assistance in locating many of the participants
•
Elsabe Oosthuizen for her tireless efforts in typing and editing
the questionnaire
•
Karin Jacobs for her kind assistance in editing the manuscript
•
Johannes
and Granny for their stellar efforts locating and
interviewing the victims and their families
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Finally, and most importantly, the victims, family members and
offenders who were prepared to share their experiences with us
I would like to express my appreciation to the following individuals
who helped make this task achievable:
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In accordance with the regulations of the University of the Free State, this thesis is presented in article format. Consequently, each article should be viewed as an independent yet related entity. A list of contents, tables and figures precedes each article. The questionnaire used to sample the participants' perceptions, the informed consent form used and the information sheet mailed to the professionals involved are presented in appendices at the end of the thesis.
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-By virtue of the fact that different perceptions of the same judicial system were sought, the measuring instrument and methodology employed with the various groups were very similar. This may translate into a perception of overlap and repetition between articles. A lack of prior research in the area, and the resulting lack of relevant local or internationaL literature results in further similarities. However, this situation is not unusual in the research community, where several articles based on a single study are published independently. Consequently, it is suggested that the reader view each article independently although they deal with interconnected psycho-legal facets of the same
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ARTICLE I
The Court for Sexual Offences: Background and rationale
Introduction
Specialization within the judicial system: A more international perspective Sex crimes in South Africa
The development of the Court for Sexual Offences Conclusion
References
Table 1: Violent crimes to the person in South Africa January to September 2001
Table 2: Reported cases of rape and attempted rape January to September (1994-2001)
Table 3: Ratios of rape and attempted rape per 100000 of the population January to September (1994-2001)
Table 4: Sex crimes against children under 18 years January 1994 - March 1998 page 1 page 3 page 6 page 12 page 18 page 19 page 7 page 8 page 10 page 11
ARTICLE I
The Court for Sexual Offences: Background and rationale
Abstract
This review article explores the various factors resulting in the establishment of specialty courts for sexual offences in South Africa. The concept of judicial specialization as a reaction to the specific needs of communities is investigated. Attention is given to general arguments for and against judicial specialization. The incidence of sex crimes in South African society is also reported. A closer look is taken at the system of specialized courts for sexual offenders as a possible solution to South Africa's unique sex crime problems. The everyday functioning of one such court is reported. Finally an appraisal of this court and its support services and bodies is presented. Potential areas of future research are also identified.
Introduction
When South African crime statistics are compared to those of the 113 Interpol member countries, it seems that South Africa has probably the highest incidence of sexual assault
in the world (Van Rensburg, 1999). It is therefore understandable that the South African
Government views sex crimes as a major threat to both the physical and psychological integrity of South African citizens. Consequently, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is doing everything within its power to combat this trend.
One of the pnmary strategies employed has been the implementation of courts specifically aimed at the prosecution of sexual offenders. The first such court was established in Wynberg, Cape in 1993 (Viviers, 1994); Bloemfontein followed suit in February 1999. The Minister of Justice has expressed the government's intention to establish a system of specialized courts (De Rebus, 1998). This would seem to be a clear indication that specialty courts, such as the new Court for Sexual Offences and existing courts such as the family and tax courts, are to become a permanent part of the South
African legal landscape. Following visits by its representatives to the Bloemfontein Court for Sexual Offences in October 1999 and in January 2000, the Canadian Government announced that it was to make a substantial financial donation for the expansion of this system to a further 20 jurisdictions.
The concept of a specialty court for sexual offences was initially well received by professionals working in the field. However, with the subsequent implementation of this concept, certain questions concerning the practical functioning of this type of specialized sex court arose (Barnes-September, 1998). As a court for sexual offences appears to be a uniquely South African concept, a shortage of empirical research on the court, as well as a lack of adequate literature surrounding the various aspects of the court's functioning, soon became apparent.
The aim of this review article is threefold. Firstly, to provide the rationale underlying the international trend toward specialization within legal systems. Secondly, to highlight the current crisis with regard to sex crimes within the South African context. Finally, to investigate the development of specialized sex courts as a reactionary attempt to address the spiralling rate of sex crimes in South African society.
A lack of adequate literature on specialized sex courts poses specific challenges to the evaluation of these courts. Consequently, much of the literature and research consulted was based on the concept of specialized courts as a whole. The wide variety of courts found under this umbrella made it very difficult to come up with a body of data linked specifically to sex courts. Furthermore, the divergent focus of the various specialty courts found internationally e.g. rehabilitation in the mental health and drug courts, mediation in the family and community courts, and punishment in the various specialized criminal courts, made it very difficult to establish a generic approach to the philosophy underlying the development and functioning of specialty courts. A discussion of local
judicial specialization would thus have to begin with an overview of the international phenomenon.
Specialization within the judicial system: A more international perspective
During the previous decade specialty courts have proliferated, with various countries streamlining and restructuring their judicial systems (Petrila, in press). A general definition of a specialty court is a court that focuses on a similar class of offender or on a narrow class of offenses (Powers, 1997). These specialized courts are said to reflect the general trend towards specialization found in almost all walks oflife. This trend has been brought about, in part, by the increasing complexity of the law and the legal system as a whole. The type of specialization that occurs in a specific judicial system, appears to reflect the problems inherent in that society or, more regularly, the standards and morality the society wishes to uphold or pursue. The forerunner with respect to judicial specialization, specifically with regard to specialty courts, appears to be the United States of America. Specialization in the American criminal court system developed as a response to the problem of ever increasing caseloads and the resulting congestion within the judicial system (Casey & Rottman, 2000).
The pnmary rationale for these specialty courts seems to be that a degree of specialization is necessary in order to effectively address cases, which are legally and/or factually complex. With this in mind, the following benefits of judicial specialization, as listed by the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee (1999), may be considered:
• The development of judicial and legal expertise that is required by or develops in such a system, leads to greater efficiency and a higher quality of service.
• The system draws special attention to a class of offence that would otherwise not receive the same attention in the more generalist courts.
• Judicial specialization also helps to transfer problematic classes of cases - either because of the expertise needed to effectively try these cases, the complex naft:tr.e of the cases or the sheer volume of cases - that would otherwise bog do~ihe existing general courts.
• Judicial specialization allows for judicial intervention and supervision of offenders diverted from the traditional criminal justice system.
• A system of specialization fosters innovation, experimentation and further specialization.
• The narrower focus also creates better coordination of social and support services by bringing together all the parties involved, by means of a multi-disciplinary approach.
Powers (1997) justifies the implementation of specialty courts in a judicial system. Firstly, the judges tend to develop a higher level of expertise in substantive and procedural issues. Consequently, decision-making is improved. According to Powers, judges presiding over specialty courts develop two types of expertise. One is that they
become more familiar with the procedures and statutes involved with that specific area of jurisprudence. The other type of expertise that these judges develop, is a degree of extra-legal knowledge in the field concerned. Here the exposure to various expert witnesses or multi-disciplinary teams tend to help the judge build up wider knowledge of the issues and challenges facing the litigant population of the specific court. Secondly, the specialized case loads, when combined with the increased expertise of the court's legal personal, often leads to increased efficiency and increased economy of judicial resources. The third contribution of specialty courts to the legal system is a greater degree of coherence and consistency.
However, the advent of judicial specialization has also been accompanied by a degree of skepticism. A major reservation expressed with respect to specialty courts is that the pursuit of fairness and justice will be lost in the trend towards ever increasing judicial efficiency. Powers (1997) warns that the generalists view, which he considers vital to good decision making, will be lost unless great care is taken in the selection of judges to preside over these specialty courts. He suggests that, over time, judges in specialty courts will tend to lose contact with the judicial system as a whole and become somewhat myopic in their judgments and sentencing. A further criticism is that the proliferation of specialty courts will lead to excessive variation and thus undermine the uniformity and,
more importantly, the consistency of the legal system as a whole (Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee, 1999).
Closely related to the decentralization of the courts are an inevitable decrease in administrative efficiency and an increase in administration costs. Furthermore, due to logistical considerations, the specialty courts are invariably located in the more centralized and urbanized areas. This may result in a lack of access for rural communities and create a certain degree of inequality in the legal system. A lesser criticism of a system of specialty courts is that of diminished prestige. Powers is of the opinion that the effectiveness of a court is largely determined by its prestige and the resulting respect for its decisions. His reservation is that courts that have a very narrow focus may be seen, by certain quarters of the legal profession, to have lesser authority than the more generalized courts. This may result in the specialty courts having to earn respect for their opinions and decisions through a proven record of high quality work.
Finally there tends to be a perception that the narrow focus of specialty courts may lead to a bias against certain classes of litigants. A specialty court is susceptible to bias in two ways (Powers, 1997). The first is that the appointment of specialized personnel may lead to the undesirable narrowness of approach mentioned earlier. The second risk is that the specialty court's expertise may result in its unconscious tendency to become too involved in the tasks and administration of related agencies and services in the field, thus losing sight of its primary function, namely that of judicial process.
It seems clear that judicial specialization is fast becoming a worldwide trend (Petri Ia, in press). This appears to be a reaction to either overloaded court rolls or the complexity of various fields within the legal system, or a combination of the two. There is strong evidence to suggest that specialty courts have much to offer the judicial system by way of streamlining processes, meeting the demands of communities and administering justice in complex fields of law. However, there has also been wide criticism of existing systems of specialty courts including the possible narrowness of their focus, alienation of rural communities, increased administration costs and bias in the administration of justice.
This overview of specialty courts, highlighting the way in which their focus is largely determined by the needs of the communities they serve, sets the stage for the investigation of the most important areas of potential judicial specialization within the South African context. As this article specifically focuses on the specialty court as a reaction to the prevalence of sex crimes in South Africa, it is necessary to provide an impression of the magnitude of the problem in this country.
Sex crimes in South Africa
South Africa is considered to be one of the most violent societies in the world (Meintjies-Van der Walt, 1998; Pillay & Sargent, 2000). Consequently, violence has become a part of many people's everyday lives. People living in informal settlements are amongst the worst affected by the spiralling incidence of violent crimes in South Africa (Nomoyi &
Pretorius, 1999). Pelser and De Kock (2000) are of the opinion that the causes of violence, as well as the general culture of violence that prevails in South Africa, are deeply rooted in the history of the country. The use of violence as both a tool for social transformation, and simultaneously as a means of attempting to maintain the political status quo, has served to entrench a culture of violence in South African society. Unfortunately, a high proportion of the individuals affected by this violence are woman and children. They almost exclusively comprise the population of individuals who fall victim to sex crimes (Stanton, Lochrenberg & Mukasa, 1997).
Table 1: Violent crimes to the person in South Africa January to September 2001.
Murder 15054 0.8%
Attempted murder 21207 1.1 %
Robbery with aggravating circumstances 87610 4.8%
Rape 3771 ] 2.0%
Assault (grievous bodily harm) 188961 10.2 %
Common Assault 182 110 9.9%
532653 28.8 %
Source: Crime Information Analysis Center, 2001.
Table 1 indicates that violent crimes against the person accounted for 28.8% of all crimes committed in South Africa from January to September 2001. It is interesting to note that according to Meintjies-Van der Walt (1998), murder rates decreased or at least stabilized after the transition to democracy in 1994. However, reported rapes rose from 69 per 100 000 people in 1995 to 83.5 per 100 00 people in 2001. Rasooi (2000) notes that South Africa recorded the highest incidence of rape in the world during the latter part of the 1990's. These figures are only indicative of cases that have been reported to the relevant authorities. It is common knowledge that many victims of rape do not report the offences or tend to drop out of litigation at various stages, because of the trauma and embarrassment associated with being the victim of a sex crime and/or the ensuing judicial proceedings. The fact that most victims of sex crimes in South Africa know, or often are related to, the offender further complicates the situation by increasing pressure on the victim to drop charges (Crime Information Analysis Center, 2001). The afore-mentioned statistics therefore only represent the proverbial tip of the iceberg with respect to the sex crime problem in South Africa today. It may thus be necessary to investigate this problem more closely at both national and provincial level.
Table 2: Reported cases of rape and attempted rape January to September (1994-2001) Eastern Cape 3913 4176 4493 5218 4689 4741 4941 4776 Free State 2446 2731 2754 2781 2509 2436 2422 2608 Gauteng 7460 8427 9390 9292 8578 8730 8869 8982 KwaZulu-Natal 4893 5657 6220 6381 6053 6249 6818 6460 Mpumalanga 1 712 2031 226] 2279 2098 2344 2482 2571 North West 2538 2983 3 186 3384 3 105 3 196 3271 3358 Province Northern Cape 899 1067 1060 1089 1021 1020 1026 976 Northern 1 788 2 153 2364 2619 2764 2758 2975 3354 Province Western Cape 3750 3914 4409 4862 4288 4548 4752 4626 RSA 29399 33139 36137 37905 35105 36022 37556 37711
Source: Crime Information Analysis Center, 2001.
It is evident from Table 2 that the incidence of rape in South Africa has steadily been on the increase over the past decade. According to Pelser and De Kock (2000) there was a 12% increase in rapes reported between 1984 and 1995. This trend continued into the later half of the 1990s with a steady increase in the reported incidence of rape and attempted up to and including 1997. One positive trend apparent in this grave situation is that the rapes reported seemed to decline during 1998. This may be due, in part, to improved conviction rates in some localities due to the establishment of specialized courts for sexual offences (Viviers, 1994; Rasool, 2000). However, the possible increase in under-reporting of sex crimes may also have caused these figures to be misleading. Notwithstanding these possible reasons for the decline in 1998, 1999 sees an increase in the national incidence of rape and attempted rape, to a point where it appears to stabilize at around 37 500 incidents per annum from then onwards. Statistics produced by the
South African Police Services indicate a 28.3% increase in the national incidence of rape and attempted rape between 1994 and 2001. This serves as definite evidence of the worsening situation with regard to sex crimes in South Africa during the last few years of the 20th century.
The South African Police Service has suggested various hypotheses to explain the high prevalence of reported rape and attempted rape over the past few years (Crime Information Analysis Center, 2001):
• Greater awareness and thus increased reporting of rapes and attempted rapes as a result of the Police Services having become friendlier to the public and more approachable.
• Urbanization has created tension between traditional and modem values and norms. This may occasionally lead to traditional beliefs and attitudes about sex conflicting with urban norms, upon which laws tend to be based. However, a counter argument is that the moral freedoms of a more modern society may be more conducive to sexual offences. This may be particularly true with regard to the sexual abuse of children.
• Increased alcohol and drug use in the country as a whole may also have an effect. A significant number of sex crimes are committed while the offender and or the victim are under the influence of a substance.
• A final hypothesis relates to certain traditional beliefs regarding sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS in particular. Perceptions and myths exist among certain sectors of the population that an individual can be cured of certain sexually transmitted diseases, specifically HIV/AIDS, by raping a virgin, or an old woman who has survived a specific venereal disease.
All these factors could explain the high incidence of rape and attempted rape in South Africa to a greater or lesser extent. Whatever the reasons for the current situation, it is one that is generally regarded as unacceptable at all levels of South African society. The need to take steps to curb the incidence of sex crimes, as well as to cater to the needs of victims should be obvious. To this end, it may be prudent to investigate the occurrence
of sex crimes at a provincial level in order to obtain an idea of where interventions would be most useful. Due to differences in population density in the country, relying purely on the number of reported cases per province can be misleading. Investigating the ratio of sex crimes per population unit may yield a more accurate picture.
Table 3: Ratios of rape and attempted rape per 100000 of the population January to September (1994-2001) Eastern Cape 64.9 67.9 71.7 81.6 71.9 71.2 72.6 68.7 Free State 97.1 106.3 105.2 104.1 92.1 87.7 85.5 90.2 Gauteng 106.6 117.9 128.5 124.5 112.5 111.8 111.0 109.8 KwaZulu-Natal 61.0 69.0 74.3 74.7 69.4 70.0 74.7 69.2 Mpumalanga 64.7 74.9 81.3 79.9 71.8 78.1 80.5 81.2 North West 79.4 91.4 95.5 99.3 89.2 89.7 89.7 90.0 Province Northern Cape 110.6 129.3 126.6 128.3 118.6 116.6 115.4 108.3 Northern 38.7 45.3 48.3 52.0 53.4 51.7 54.1 59.2 Province Western Cape 98.9 101.3 112.0 121.2 104.9 109.0 111.6 106.5 RSA 76.1 83.9 89.6 91.9 83.3 83.5 85.1 83.5
Source: Crime Information Analysis Center, 2001.
Table 3 highlights definite hot spots within the country as regards rape and attempted rape. On average, the worst hit provinces appear to be the Northern Cape, Gauteng, Western Cape, Free State and, more recently, North West Province. It is also worth noting that, with the exception of the North West Province, these were also the initial areas into which specific sex courts were introduced to deal with sexual offences. It is, however, interesting that the ratios of sexual assaults in these provinces seem to stay within a fairly stable range from 1998 onwards. This may be an indication of the degree
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51 to which the provincial governments realized the need to address the sex crime problems they experienced.The statistical trends reported thus far have dealt with sex crimes involving the total population. It is, however, vital that the incidence of sexual assault involving children specifically be investigated if a more accurate perception of the problem is to be gained. This is especially important as anecdotal evidence suggests that sex crimes involving minors as victims, have probably been the strongest motivation for the modification of judicial systems with respect to sex crimes, both locally and abroad (Stanton,
Lochrenberg & Mukasa, 1997). The statistics presented, regarding sexual offences against children, are dated. However, they are the most up to date statistics currently available, as the more recent national statistics tend to present an overall view of the problem, and do not differentiate sex crimes against adults from those against children.
Table 4: Sex crimes against children under 18 years January 1994 - March 1998 Sodomy 491 Incest 156 660 893 853 183 Rape 7559 10037 13859 15336 3857 Indecent assault 3904 4044 4168 4068 905
Source: Crime Information Analysis Center, 1999.
Table 4 indicates that, as with most crimes, sexual offences against minors showed a sharp rise after 1994. Rape appears to be the most common sexual crime involving minors as victims. Indecent assault, which includes molestation, is the next most prevalent sex crime against children.
The decline in reported cases of sexual offences found amongst the general population during 1998 is also reflected among child victims. However, this is only with regard to non-penetrative sexual assaults. The incidents of reported rapes amongst children more than doubled during this period. This may be an indication that the underreporting of sex crimes, that is suspected to have taken place amongst adults, is largely absent amongst minors. A possible reason for this may be the fact that society regards the sexual abuse of children in a more serious light than that of adults. Consequently, members of the public are more inclined to report sex crimes against children than sexual offences involving adult victims. Another explanation may be that minors have little say in how their guardians deal with these situations and, as such, are not able to avoid reporting to the same extent that adults are. Whatever the reasons for the difference in reporting may be, it is obvious from the preceding data, that sex crimes against all classes of South Africans are rife and present a serious problem on social, psychological, economic, health and judicial levels.
It should be evident that sexual offences are a widespread and all too common phenomenon in South Africa. Thus, by implication, a wide sector of South African society, specifically women and children, are victims or are at risk of becoming victims of sexual assault. When one reviews the data on sex crimes in South Africa over the past decade, the necessity to specifically target sexual offences as an area of judicial specialization becomes painfully obvious.
The development of the Court for Sexual Offences
At the opening of the Natal Law Society in 1998, the then Minister of Justice, Dullah Omar, outlined his plan to promote the expansion of the system of specialty courts and specialization for judicial officers (De Rebus, 1998). The Minister highlighted the need for development of both specialty criminal and civil justice courts. He was of the opinion that specialist judicial officers functioning in specialty courts, would be able to dispose of
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cases more efficiently, expediently and with more confidence than less specialized judicial officers. This would obviously have very positive implications for an over
burdened judicial system that is often perceived by the public as falling short of their expectations.
The vanous advantages of specialty courts were mentioned earlier in this article. Working from the premise that the degree and focus of judicial specialization in a society reflects both the moral values of that society as well as the challenges it faces, it seems obvious that a specialty court focusing on sex crimes would eventually come into being in South Africa.
The first court for sexual offences was established in Wynberg in the Western Cape Province during April 1993 (Viviers, 1994). A strong interdisciplinary approach to dealing with cases of rape and child molestation was emphasized by the court. This specialized court for sexual offences was widely welcomed and appeared to make an immediate impact in terms of improved efficiency, alleviating the case loads of the other Magistrate's courts in Wynberg and improving conviction rates in sexual assault cases (Rasool, 2000). According to Viviers, the improved conviction rates were a fortunate byproduct of the court, as its main focus was the reduction of secondary victimization, experienced by most victims involved in criminal litigation relating to sex crimes. This secondary victimization is also often viewed as being chiefly responsible for the underreporting of offences, as well as the general disillusionment with the judicial system experienced by the majority of South Africans (Stanton, Lochrenberg & Mukasa, 1997).
It would therefore appear that a shift from a prosecution driven judicial system to a more victim-centered approach was made with the establishment of the first court for sexual offences. There does appear to be a much stronger commitment on the part of the Government to adhere to this strongly victim-centered approach. In her speech at the opening of the Court for Sexual Offences in Kimberley on the 25th of August 2000, the
Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ms Cheryl Gillwald (2000), outlined the objectives of the system of courts for sexual offences as follows:
• To improve the conviction rates for sexual offences; • To ensure that cases are dealt with in an efficient manner;
• To eliminate all secondary victimization of victims of sexual assault;
• To minimize the trauma experienced by the victim during the investigation and prosecution process.
It is thus clear that a strong leaning towards what Casey and Rottman (2000) refer to as "therapeutic jurisprudence" (p.1) exists in this specialty court approach to prosecuting sexual offence cases. The concept of therapeutic jurisprudence rests on the premise that, not only the outcomes of the judicial process, but also the process as a whole, can have a therapeutic effect on one or more parties involved in litigation. Incorporating therapeutic principles into a court system involves three steps. The first is to recognize the role of the particular court system in producing these therapeutic outcomes. In other words, what therapeutic effect, if any, does the litigation process have on the victims or perpetrators of sex crimes? One would expect these therapeutic outcomes to be realized in terms of the over all experience of the trial, as well as, the verdict and sentencing. The second step involves the implementation of therapeutic jurisprudence principles. This step implies that the court in question makes a concerted effort to consider the therapeutic implications of its actions at each stage of the judicial process. The final step is the evaluation of the implementation of these principles. Once a court or judicial system has seen itself as an active agent in the therapeutic experiences of victims and offenders, as well as the family members of these two groups, it regularly needs to evaluate the type and quality of therapeutic outcomes produced in the course of applying justice. With regard to the court for sexual offences the therapeutic goal appears primarily to be the reduction of secondary victimization. The improved efficiency of proceedings and higher conviction rates may also assist the victims' recovery by providing some type of closure or retribution with respect to the trauma they have been exposed to (Nomoyi & Pretorious, 1999). The specific manner in which courts for sexual offences have been able to practically implement these principles is worth investigating.
The most accurate perception of the practical implication of specific principles in the court for sexual offences will most probably be gained by an examination of the everyday functioning of this court. The workings of the original Court for Sexual Offences in
Wynberg will be reported here. This is, however, solely due to the fact that this was the first court to be established and consequently the most widely studied court. The workings of the other sexual offences courts around the country are based on the same principals and are, to an extent, modelled on the Wynberg court. This discussion of the court's functioning will focus on the personnel employed, the modifications that have been made to standard court procedures, and the process through which the victim and offender are taken.
An attempt is made to maintain a degree of continuity with respect to the personnel specifically appointed to the court. This results in a greater degree of specialization of the personnel and makes for a more reassuring experience for members of the public involved with the court. Furthermore, this specialization will, in all probability, result in increased conviction rates as the individuals working in these courts on a full time basis, will develop a level of proficiency and experience that their colleagues who are only occasionally involved with the courts (e.g. defense councils) will not be able to easily match. The permanent personnel of the court for sexual offences include two or more prosecutors, a social worker and the presiding officer (Opperman, personal communication, 2000). An attempt is also made to utilize a reasonably stable core of auxiliary personnel such as interpreters, intermediaries and social workers. However, the latter is largely subject to various logistical constraints. The intention remains to provide victims with a degree of security based on the fact that their entire case is handled by the same person from beginning to end. It also allows the prosecutor to be thoroughly familiar with the case and thus, by implication, to mount the best prosecution possible. The idea of having a permanent presiding officer for the court also leads to greater specialization and improved effectiveness with respect to judgments, sentencing and recommendations (Rasool, 2000). This is an improvement on the traditional court system with generalists as presiding officers and prosecutors appointed on a random basis. However, as mentioned earlier, a specialty system such as this one opens itself to criticism with regard to issues of bias and credibility within the wider judicial and legal system.
The court for sexual offences, as stated previously, views the victim's welfare as its primary concern. Consequently a concerted effort is made to create a more relaxed and less imposing atmosphere. This is particularly true of the modifications made for child victims and witnesses. Here painted cartoon murals appear on the walls of interview and testimony rooms. The furniture used and the availability of toys go a long way to make the environment less foreboding to children. Victim's statements and preparation for the cases take place in a less formal manner than in other courts. Intermediaries are used extensively at every stage of the process in an attempt to reduce any misunderstandings and tension that language problems, differences in levels of development or cultural differences may present.
Children's evidence is often gathered usmg a variety of informal, child orientated, techniques such as play and drawing. Children also have the advantage of giving evidence from outside the courtroom. The child usually sits in a room with an intermediary while testifying. Both the child and intermediary are visible to the court by way of a closed-circuit television system. The intermediary wears earphones enabling her/him listen to the court proceedings. Questions are asked via the intermediary, who is able to rephrase the questions to facilitate better comprehension on the part of the child and the child's responses are then relayed in the same manner to parties in the courtroom. This protects the child from intimidation during cross-examination and helps to make the whole experiences of giving evidence less stressful. The child is only required to enter the actual court in order to identify the perpetrator in a line up. During this stage in the proceedings all possible precautions are taken to protect the child from any form of intimidation or traumatization. Precautions like these may go a long way towards reducing secondary victimization during the litigation process. Attempts are also made to protect the victims, both adults and minors, from intimidation and victimization between court session by the use of interdicts and imprisonment of suspects in extreme cases. The court thus seems to be meeting its objective to put the interests of the victim first.
However, enthusiasm for this victim-centered approach does not appear to be shared by all within the legal system, nor are the auxiliary services associated with these cases on par with the courts as regards victim-friendly innovations and modifications.
According to Viviers (1994), the court's victim-orientated focus, as well as some of its modified approaches to jurisprudence, have drawn strong criticism from legal practitioners who have defended individuals in these courts. The use of the closed-circuit television system has been criticized for being impersonal and unfairly hamstringing defense attorneys and their clients, while favoring prosecutors and victims. Some attorneys have perceived the lack of personal contact during cross-examination as having a detrimental effect on the quality of their cross-examinations. They claim that one loses the intuitive "feel" of a line of evidence under these conditions. The role of the intermediaries has also come under fire. Their impartiality has been brought into dispute by attorneys claiming that the intermediaries appear to have a great deal of insight into the facts of specific cases. The fact that many of these intermediaries have offices in the court and are involved in the initial interviews with the victims has drawn criticism of their ability to perform an impartial function in the court proceedings. There have also been claims that the intermediaries' prerogative to rephrase questions in their own words for the child enables them to influence the course of proceedings. However, in spite of their criticism of the court, most legal practitioners are in favour of the concepts underlying its development and functioning. The attempt to clear busy court roles of complex sexual abuse cases, attempts to modify the court so as to suit its particular function and increased conviction rates were all positively received by the legal profession as a whole.
The current system of courts for sexual offences also relies on a variety of support services. These include the offices of the State Physician, Social Welfare as well as various therapeutic agencies such as Family Welfare and State PsychiatriclPsychological institutions. The medical officers are responsible for the forensic medical examination of alleged victims of sexual abuse. This is especially vital when minors are involved since determining the presence and extent of sexual interaction between victim and offender, as
well as the victim's identification of the offender are often all that a case hinges on. However, the long waiting periods, and a lack of sensitivity on the part of physicians during these examinations, are thought to account for a large proportion of the secondary victimization associated with sex crimes.
It
is also alleged that inadequate training and experience, in this area of medicine, often leads to incomplete examinations or examinations that are not admissible as evidence for various reasons.It
appears that while the courts are attempting to provide a better experience for victims, their medical colleagues are still lagging behind (Bames-September, 1998).One of the original ideas envisioned in the specialty interdisciplinary approach to prosecuting sexual offences, was that the victims would have adequate access to social and therapeutic services, both during the trial and following its conclusion. This would have been the domain of social services or social workers in the employ of the courts themselves (Viviers, 1994). However, in the majority of cases these services do not appear to have been forthcoming (Bames-September, 1998). A lack of personnel and finances has seen victims fall through the cracks following the completion of litigation, and the court failed to carry its victim-centered approach through to a satisfactory conclusion. The result is that many victims are left with residual emotional trauma, caused by feeling that once they have helped the state or court achieve its objective, namely conviction of the offender, they, the victims, lose their usefulness and the court's interest in them quickly diminishes (Stanton, Lochrenberg & Mukasa, 1997).
Conclusion
It
appears that specialized courts for sexual offences have managed to make great strides towards modifying traditional structures and processes so as to be more accessible to the general public. However, the manner in which the litigation is conducted in these courts has lead to criticism. The impartiality of the court set up, as well as the credibility of its decisions within the broader legal context, have been brought into question. The increased conviction rate and a reduction in secondary victimization during court proceeding have been positively received by the legal profession and general public alike.However, the ability of the system to follow the victim-centered approach through to a satisfactory conclusion appears to be uncertain at best. There appears to be a specific weakness with regard to the supplementary disciplines involved in the system, as well as the court's ability, as the major role player, to adequately co-ordinate and manage the process as a whole.
A mixed impression is created by this review of the limited literature available on South African courts for sexual offences. On one hand, is a judicial system attempting to improve the lot of the victims of sexual offences and claiming to generally be succeeding in achieving its goal. On the other hand are the critics of the system, who while acknowledging the improvements made to the system, are still of the opinion that the current system falls short of its intended objectives. A more comprehensive evaluation of the experiences of all individuals involved with the sexual offences court system appears to be strongly indicated.
References
Bames-September, RL. (1998). The development of a protocol for the management of
child abuse and neglect. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of the Western
Cape.
Casey, P. & Rottman, D. (2000). Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Courts.
Http://www.ncsc.dni.usIICMI distance/therapeutic/2000-08/html.
Crime Information Analysis Center. (1999). The incidence of serious crime: January to
December 1998. Pretoria: South African Police Service Crime Analysis Center.
Crime Information Analysis Center. (2001). The reported serious crime situation in
South Africa for the period January - September 2001. Pretoria: South African Police Service Crime Analysis Center.
De Rebus. (1998). Justice Ministry calls for specialization of the courts and the
Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee. (1999). An overview of Florida's Criminal
Justice Specialized Courts. Http://www.fcc.state.flus/fcc/reports/courts/
ctrec/html#spec.
Gillwald, C. (2000). Opening of the Sexual Offences Court in Kimberley.
Http://www.doj.gov.zaldocs/sp/2000/25aug20000.html.
Meintjies-Van der Walt, L. (1998). Towards victims' empowerment strategies in the criminal justice process. South African Journal of Criminal Justice, 11, (2)
157-172.
Nomoyi, N.C. &Pretorius, R. (1999). Inaccessible support services: Experiences of victims of violent crime. Acta Criminologica, 11, (2) 95-101.
Opperman, L. (September 2000). Personal communication.
Pelser, A. & De Kock, C. (2000). Violence in South Africa: A note on some trends in the 19990's. Acta Criminologica, 13, (1) 80-94.
Petri la, JD. (in press). An introduction to specialty courts. International Journal of
Psychiatry and Law.
Pillay, A.L. & Sargent, C. (2000). Psycho-legal issues affecting rape survivours with mental retardation. South African Journal of Psychology, 30, 9-13.
Powers, J (1997). A new specialty court for Texas? Http://www.adminlaw.orglaotm2
.htm.
Rasool, S. (2000). Sexual offences courts: Do more courts mean better justice?
Nedbank ISS Crime Index, 2, 11-14.
Stanton, S., Lochrenberg, M. & Mukasa, M. (1997). Improvedjusticefor survivors of Sexual violence? Adult survivors' experiences of the Wynberg Sexual Offences
Court and associated services. Cape Town: African Gender Institute.
Van Rensburg, H.C.J. (1999). Crime in South Africa - current state and trends. Paper presented at the University of Bahrain (21 November 1999).
Viviers, S. (1994). Wynberg Sexual Offences Court: Impressions after a year in operation. De Rebus, Aug, 569-570.
Table 1: Periods of time sexual assault cases took to come to trial Table 2: Victims' perceptions of the Court for Sexual Offences
page 13 page 20
ARTICLEll
The Court for Sexual Offences: Perceptions of the victims of sexual
offences
Introduction Literature review Method Results DiscussionShortcomings of the study and future research directions References page 1 page 2 page 7 page 9 page 21 page 25 page 27
Figure 1: Time lapsed between sexual assault and forensic examination by a physician
Figure 2: Waiting periods before consultation with prosecutors
Figure 3: Outcome of the trials as reported by victims of sexual offences
page 12 page 15 page 18
ARTICLEll
The Court for Sexual Offences: Perceptions of the victims of sexual
offences
Abstract
This article explores the perceptions of sexual offence victims following their interaction with the Court for Sexual Offences in Bloemfontein. The study primarily investigated these individuals' satisfaction with the degree to which the Court succeeds in providing more effective justice for victims and reduces secondary victimization during judicial proceedings. The respondents were generally positive with regard to their experiences with the Court. However, cases were still found to be slow in coming to trial. The treatment of the victims after their participation in the trials was found to not be of the same standard as that received before they testified. These findings point to potential changes to the current system to further enhance the Court's functioning and legitimacy amongst the people it serves.
Introduction
When compared to other countries with stable democratic governments not currently involved in major military conflicts, South Africa has the highest incidence of violent crimes in the world (Meinjties-Van der Walt, 1998; Pillay & Sargent, 2000). Rapes, attempted rapes and child molestations constitute a significant and ever-increasing proportion of the violent crime reported in this country every year (Crime Information Analysis Center, 2001). The Government initiated a system of specialized sex courts to help the already overburdened judicial system to deal more effectively and efficiently with the prosecution of the large volume of sex crimes reported to the police on an almost daily basis.
The specialized courts for sexual offences are said to aim to improve the conviction rate in sexual assault cases. More significantly, however, these courts claim to strive to reduce secondary victimization and improve the general treatment of victims throughout the judicial proceedings. These objectives are claimed to be achieved to varying degrees.
However, the test of any democratic state organ, is the degree to which citizens that interact with it, perceive it to be fulfilling specific functions. Consequently, as part of a more encompassing study of the specialist sex court system, this article will attempt to establish the perceptions and experiences of sexual offence victims regarding the degree to which the courts are making good on their commitments. The findings reported in this article will be with specific relevance to the Court for Sexual Offences in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State Province. Hopefully the findings will also usefully contribute to the evaluation of the system on a national level.
Literature review
The concept of judicial specialization is by no means a new development. Numerous countries have employed one or more systems of specialized courts to deal more effectively with problematic criminal trends in their societies (Powers, 1997). Such specialization is most often employed to deal with heavy caseloads and congestion in the legal system. However, as far as could be ascertained, South Africa is the only country that has to date, identified sex crimes as an area of judicial specialization. The obvious consequence is that very little international and local research has been conducted on specialized sex court systems. This results in minimal literature on the subject being available. Consequently, the ensuing discussion has been based on issues related to sex crimes in general, the little information there is available on sexual offences courts in South Africa and on studies of general public perceptions of the judicial systems in other countries.
Previous reference has been made to the fact that rape and the sexual abuse of both adults and minors are all too familiar features of South African life. The incidence of these crimes also appears to consistently be on the increase. According to statistics published by the South African Police Service, the national incidence of reported rape and attempted rape increased from 29 399 in 1994 to 37 711 in 2001 (Crime Information Analysis Center, 2001). The reported cases of sex crimes for the Free State Province increased from 2 446 in 1994 to a peak of 2 781 in 1997. Thereafter the incidence of
these crimes appears to stabilize at around two and a half thousand a year, with 2 608 being reported between January and September 2001. The stabilization of these figures after 1997 is thought to be in part due to better policing in the Free State and increased sociopolitical stability in the country as a whole (Pelser & De Kock, 2000). The implementation of a specialized sex court in the province during the late nineties has no doubt contributed to stabilization of reported sex crimes in the province, while the national average continues to rise annually. These improvements include more effective handling of the sexual offence caseload and improved conviction rates. Policing has also become more specialized through its interaction with the sex court system. However, these improvements should not detract from the severity of the sexual assault problem in the province. This is further emphasized by the realization that these statistics only reflect the cases actually reported to the police. The South African Police Service as well as various individuals and institutions tasked with dealing with rape, its perpetrators and its victims are of the opinion that a significant proportion of rape and other sexual assaults committed in the country are never reported to the authorities (Crime Information Analysis Center, 2001).
Women and minors of both genders, perhaps predictably, almost exclusively comprise the section of South African society that falls victim to sex crimes (Stanton, Lochrenberg
& Mukasa, 1997). Furthermore, the majority of the rape and sexual assault cases heard by South African Courts are brought before them by the poor and marginalized of the society (Nomoyi & Pretorius, 1999). This is not to say that sex crimes exclusively affect the poor. However, they appear more inclined to rely exclusively on state organs for justice and treatment than more affluent sectors of society do (Opperman, personal
communication, 2000). Traditionally, in any society, the vast majority of sexual assault victims are women. In South Africa this translated into a situation where those most profoundly affected by sex crimes, at psychological, social and logistical level, are women living below the poverty line in areas with inadequate access to social and police
services.
Consequently, any attempt to effectively deal with the current sex crime situation in a holistic manner, would thus have to be sensitive to the needs and experiences of this sector of the population.Courts for sexual offences have the welfare of the victim throughout the judicial process and the application of justice as their points of departure (Viviers, 1994; De Rebus, 1998). Where possible the rights and welfare of the victim take precedence in situations where the victim may be seriously disadvantaged by pursuing a conviction (Campbell & Raja, 1999; Opperman, personal communication, 2000). This victim-oriented approach is further implemented by procedures to demystify the judicial process and make it less traumatic for the individual (Moult, 2002). These include prior meetings with the prosecutor where the victim is briefed on court procedures and the course the trial will most probably take. The court environment has also been adapted from the impersonal and imposing atmosphere usually associated with the judicial system. Steps are taken to ensure victims' privacy and freedom from intimidation by the establishment of special waiting rooms. Minors and other susceptible victims are able to give their testimony via a closed circuit television system and the court is inclined to go to greater lengths to protect the victims from further trauma when setting bail conditions and restricting contact between the offender and victim before and during the trial (Viviers, 1994). Courts for sexual offences like the one in Bloemfontein, claim thus not only to have streamlined the judicial process with regard to sex crimes and to have improved the conviction rate in these cases (Opperman, personal communication, 2000; Rasool, 2000), but also to have significantly reduced the trauma sexual offence victims experienced through their involvement with the courts in the past. Nomoyi and Pretorius (1999) are of the opinion that the preceding factors all help the victims of sex crimes to experience a greater measure of retribution and serve to more effectively facilitate psychological recovery.
The preceding discussion would suggest that sexual offence courts would assume to provide some measure of what Casey and Rottman (2000), as well as Christean (2002) refer to as therapeutic jurisprudence. Therapeutic jurisprudence is often a major objective in the establishment of specialist court systems. However, this does not necessarily disqualify existing courts having a therapeutic or restorative effect upon individuals making use of its services. The practical execution of therapeutic jurisprudence most often takes the role of either court ordered rehabilitation, and or the
facilitation of conflict resolution between parties, and or providing the victim with a degree of closure and healing not onJy by the way he or she is treated by the judicial system (not exasperating the trauma already suffered), but also by providing the victim with adequate retribution for the wrongs committed against them. One of the major objectives of this article is to explore the extent to which the Court for Sexual Offences in Bloemfontein succeeds, in the eyes of the victims of sexual offences, at reducing secondary victimization and serves as a form of therapeutic jurisprudence. Barnes-September (1998) states that while most of the legal professionals in the Western Cape are positive with the functioning of the local sexual offences court in Wynberg, many victims of sexual assaults feel that the Court and its auxiliary services fall short of providing any service beyond the conviction of the offender.
It should be clear by now that the evaluation of any court system, if it is in any way to be legitimate, has to take the perceptions and experiences of the public it serves, into account. This is the cardinal point of departure for this article and consequently, necessitates the investigation of differing perceptions of legal institutions within society. Benesh and Howell highlight the applicability of this approach when they state that "court users are in the unique position of observing firsthand the workings of the system and from that experience make judgments to their legitimacy and fairness" (p.201, 2001). General trends in foreign research have suggested that the public have become increasingly critical of criminal justice systems in particular (Kaukinen & Colavecchia, 1999). However, various personal and socioeconomic experiences or attitudes jade perceptions of the judicial system among certain sectors of the population. It would be irresponsible to embark upon an evaluation of the specialized sex court system without first considering the idiosyncratic opinions and attitudes certain individuals may have towards the criminal justice system in general.
The body of research available on public opinions relating to judicial systems reveals that individuals' attitudes are most notably influenced by employment, gender, race and exposure to or fear of crime (Kaukinen & Colavecchia, 1999; Benesh & Howell, 2001; Brooks & Jeon-Slaughter, 2001; Tyler, 2001). In Canada and the United States of
America the wealthy are generally perceived as being supportive of the judicial system. They are in a position to influence decision-making to a degree, and are also often more familiar with the working of the legal system than the less affluent sectors of these societies (Kaukinen & Colavecchia, 1999). The more wealthy individuals seem to criticize the judicial system mainly with regard to excessive rights for "criminals" and lenient sentencing (Sprott & Doob, 1997). This is, in all probability, a reflection of their perceptions of themselves as people with much to lose to theft and other crimes against property. The rich and empowered generally tend to be more supportive of a judicial system that protects them and their property irrespective of how just they perceive it to be (Myers, 1996).
In societies where independence and power is associated with race or gender, those members of the advantaged groups tend to have the same attitudes towards the judicial system as the wealthy do (Myers, 1996). In this regard, it would be naïve to assume that racial and gender inequalities do not still find expression even in a post-apartheid South African judicial system. Employment influences perceptions in that employed individuals have a more positive view of a society or government, and consequently of the organs of that state, than do those individuals who are not employed (Brooks & Jeon-Slaughter,2001).
The poor, marginalized and disenfranchised in a society often have very differing perceptions of the legal system to their more empowered and wealthy counterparts. Previously or currently disadvantaged race groups tend to remain suspicious of the legitimacy and motives of most organs of the state (Brooks, 2000). The lower socio-economic sector of a society also stands a better chance of having had negative interactions with the courts. They are more inclined to have been convicted of petty crimes or have a relative who has served, or is serving a prison sentence. This perceived victimization by the judicial system would obviously influence individuals' perceptions thereof. One would also expect individuals from the more disadvantaged sectors of society who are more frequently exposed to violence to support a judicial system that is tough on crime. However, this does not appear to be the case. Sprott and Doob (1997)
found that the victims of violence and sexual assaults, tended to be less supportive of an extremely punitive criminal justice system, than individuals who have not been victims of such crimes.
Although individuals' perceptions of judicial systems appears to be a complex issue, the general impression gained from the foreign research reviewed is that the more marginalized and disenfranchised an individual is, the less inclined that individual is to identify with the judicial system. This may, in turn, result in a distrust of the legal system or dissatisfaction with its perceived workings. Unfortunately these opinions cannot readily be generalized to South African society due to a lack of local research pertaining to public perceptions of the functioning of the criminal justice system. Nonetheless, the role of sociopolitical and socio-economic baggage amongst the victims of sexual offences cannot be ignored when considering their evaluation of their experiences with the criminal justice system.
As mentioned, this study alms to evaluate the functioning of the Court for Sexual Offences in Bloemfontein from a psycho-legal perspective. The victims' experiences concerning the stated objectives of specialist sex courts could be regarded as benchmarks for this evaluation. These objectives principally consist of reduced secondary victimization, decreased congestion of court roles and operationalization of some measure of therapeutic jurisprudence (Moult, 2002).
Method
The initial research methodology for this project was devised in consultation with senior staff of the Court for Sexual Offences in Bloemfontein. The first step was to come up with a tool to sample the opinions of the individuals participating in the study. Due to the lack of an appropriate instrument amongst the measures already in existence, it was necessary to compile a questionnaire. The basic structure of the questionnaire was partially based on the research conducted by Stanton, Lochrenberg and Mukasa (1997) and Barnes-September (1998), as well as various consultations with John Petrila, Chair
and Professor in the Department of Mental Health, Law and Policy at the University of South Florida, regarding existing approaches to the evaluation of Drug Courts and Mental Health Courts in the United States of America. The current questionnaire samples the respondents' opinion with regard to interaction with the South African Police Services, the State physician, the prosecutor and other court personnel, as well as the outcome of the trial, the sentence handed down by the court and the after-care the victims received. Questions were presented in two item forced-choice format, five point Likert Scales and open-ended questions aimed at eliciting more detailed responses (see Appendix A).
The Court is said to hear close on 700 cases a year (Opperman, personal communication, 2000). These cases are said to involve approximately 700 adult victims of sexual offences and 300 minors. Consequently, it was decided to draw an initial sample of 70 adult victims and 30 minor victims from cases heard by the Court between January 2000 and December 2001. Only individuals who had undergone the entire process, up to and including receiving judgment were included in the sample. Initial intentions to include cases where charges were withdrawn, had to be abandoned on the recommendation of the South Africa Police Service due to issues of personal privacy and confidentiality. Permission to obtain the remaining individuals' personal details from police records was granted by the Commander of the local Child Protection and Sex Crimes Unit.
The final sample obtained fell short of the intended one. High geographic mobility amongst the target population, and the extended passage of time that elapsed between the police obtaining victims' details and judgment eventually being handed down, made it very difficult to locate the participants. Furthermore, the general layout of informal settlements (squatter camps) in South Africa tends to be such that locating specific individuals from formal address lists in near impossible. The sample of potential participants was consequently expanded from 100 individuals (70 adults and 30 minors) to 130 individuals of varying ages. An eventual sample of 49 victims of sexual offences was obtained. The low response rate was due to various factors, including an inability to locate the individuals, their unwillingness to share their experiences with the researchers and an unwillingness to sign the informed consent documentation.
The 49 individuals' written consent to participate m the study was obtained (see Appendix B) and the questionnaire was administered. However, due to the low level of education and high rate of illiteracy amongst the respondents, the questionnaires had to be administered in the form of structured interviews. Research assistants with post-graduate level qualifications in psychology and fluent in the first languages of the participants, were trained to administer the English questionnaire in the relevant languages.
Five of the victims' responses to the questionnaire were excluded from the study because they were incomplete to the extent that they could no longer be considered to be meaningful sources of information. However, due to the size of the sample questionnaires that were incomplete but that provided data on four or more of the six sections of the questionnaire were retained. The remaining 44 questionnaires were statistically analyzed and frequencies for each response item calculated in an attempt to determine trends in respondents' perceptions.
Results
The sample had a mean age of 23.12 years (SD=14.73), with the youngest participant being five years old and the oldest 51. Respondents between the ages of 11 and 16 years of age constituted 39% of the sample, while people aged from 17 to 21 years and 37 to 56 years each accounted for 22%. The 39 women interviewed constituted 95.1% of the sample. The remaining 4.9 % were male. Regarding the distribution of race, 85.4% of the individuals participating in the study were Black, while the remaining 14.6% of the victims were so-called Coloureds.
The vast majority of victims (64%) reported to be scholars, while 2% were enrolled at tertiary institutions. Of the remainder, 10% were unskilled, semi skilled or temporary laborers, and 24 % were unemployed. Eight respondents (19.3%) reported having undergone no formal schooling, while 36.8% had attended primary school. Only 31.7%
of the respondents had successfully completed primary school or progressed further. One respondent was found to be in possession of a matriculation certificate. The mean with regard to formal education in the sample was 6.22 years with a standard deviation of 4.11 years.
The nature of the sexual offence committed against the individual was also investigated. The majority (65.84%) of the sample fell victim to rape. Molestation accounted for
12,2% of the individuals surveyed, while 7.32% were assaulted in rape attempts for which there were insufficient grounds to build an attempted rape or molestation case. The remaining 14.64% fell victim to attempted sexual offences.
Most victims (51.2%) cite their primary reason for reporting the sexual assault to the police as being emotionally disturbed by the event. This included feelings of depression, anxiety, fear, anger and shock. Family members whom the victim informed about the sexual assault reported 17.1% of the cases. The police responded to the majority of these reports by taking the victim to the hospital in order for a medical examination to be performed (56.1 %). In 26.8% of the cases the victim perceived the police's first response to be to arrest the accused, while in 12.2% the victim stated that the police responded by initiating an investigation into the incident. Only 4.9% of respondents experienced the police's response as negative. These individuals accuse the police of being slow to respond to the charges or seeming unwilling to arrest the accused.
The majority of the victims (78%) stated that they felt safe while waiting at the police station or giving their statements. The two most popular perceptions in this regard were that the police would protect the victim from further harm, and that steps had been taken by the police to ensure privacy and confidentiality during these interviews. Of the 9% who were not content with the situation while giving their statements, most felt that the police did not take their accusations seriously and that steps taken to ensure their safety were inadequate. In 82.5% of the cases the police officer taking the victim's statement was male. Despite being almost exclusively female, 29 of the 41 respondents (70.73%) described their attitude towards this situation as either more than satisfied or very happy.
Victims surveyed in this study generally seem to have experienced their contact with the South African Police Services in a positive light. Victims perceived the police as being prepared to provide information with regard to how the case could generally be expected to proceed 82.5% of the time. In 75.6% of the cases the police were perceived as approachable and as being prepared to assist the victim. Almost half of the victims (42.9%) feIt that the police officers they encountered had emotionally supported them during the initial stages following the offence. Moreover, 23.8% of the victims claimed that rapid action by the police force in apprehending the accused was of great comfort to them.
However, opinion with regard to the investigating officer's availability and transparency during the ensuing investigation was divided, with 31.7% of the sample being less than satisfied with the degree to which they were kept informed of progress and developments during the investigation. Suggestions to improve the quality of police service included a greater degree of empathy with the victim (19%), the appointment of more female police officers to deal with victims of sexual offences (14.3%), faster response times (14.3%) and more effective community policing to help reduce the incidence of sexual offences (14.3%).
Sexual offence victims sampled in this study, generally felt positive about the manner in which they were referred for forensic medical examination. The police were judged to have dealt competently and sensitively with these referrals by 76.9% of the respondents. Furthermore, they provided transport to the hospital or clinic in 89.7% of cases, while the individuals making up the remaining 10.3% of the sample reported having consulted a physician before reporting the sexual offence to the police.
Figure 1: Time lapsed between sexual assault and forensic
examination by a physician
00-5hrs.6
-12 hrs 012-24 hrs 024 hrs+ n=44Medical assistance in all the cases was forensic in nature, but also addressed any medical complications arising from the sexual assault. Figure 1 illustrates that 20% of the victims were attended to within five hours of the incident, while 48% received medical attention within 12 hours of the sexual offence. The vast majority of the sample (80%) was attended to within 24 hours of the incident. However, a fifth of the sample reported having to wait in excess of 24 hours before receiving medical attention. It is not clear whether these delays were due to the inaccessibility of medical services or due to the victims' tardiness in reporting the sexual offence and seeking assistance.
Female physicians conducted the medical examination in 92.3% of the reported incidents. The victims generally viewed this in a positive light. Language does not seem to have been an obstacle to the effectiveness of the medical examination with 97.8% of the victims being satisfied that they were able to make themselves understood, as well as understand the questions asked by the medical staff. The majority (94.9%) of the victims who underwent a medical examination, expressed satisfaction with the thoroughness of said examination. However, more than half the sample (59%) claims to have never received any feedback from the attending physician regarding the results of the physical examination. Furthermore, only 56.4% of the participants recall the physician recommending some form of counselling to help them deal with the trauma, or any other further treatment. In addition to the lack of feedback regarding the results of the physical
